The Great Disco Demolition Riot
Throughout history, many riots have stemmed from discrimination, societal and political differences, poverty, sports, and drunkenness, just to name a few causes. But other times, strange events spark a clash involving unusual groups of people. These clashes escalate to levels where they turn destructive and even deadly, leading to the most unusual riots in history.
10 Disco Demolition Night
turn on June 16, when the Metropolitan Police Force tried to arrest Mayor Wood at City Hall. A riot between 800 Municipal and 50 Metropolis police officers erupted, and there were fights in the hallways and in front of City Hall. More than 50 people were injured in the riot.
On July 2, Mayor Wood finally disbanded the Municipal Police Force. The Supreme Court of New York ruled that the Metropolitan Police Force had police jurisdiction over New York City, and they sent the militia to back them up. Two days after the police were disbanded, the famous Dead Rabbits riots, which were depicted in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, broke out in the Five Points.
8 The Old Price Riots
In December 1808, a fire broke out in the Covent Garden Theatre in London. It destroyed the building and many of the costumes inside of it.
The owner of the theater set to work to rebuild. The construction and buying new costumes was costly, so when the new theater was set to open nine months after the fire, the manager, John Philip Kemble, increased the prices slightly. For example, one section had a price increase from six shillings to seven shillings.
The riots started on the opening night, which was Macbeth, with Kemble playing the main role. People made noise, banging pans. The protests, which consisted of several riots, lasted two months. Furthering the problems, the owner of the theater hired boxers as enforcers, which only escalated the violence.
The riot finally came to an end when Kemble agreed to lower the prices and apologized for raising the prices and hiring the boxers.
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